Potato Masala N Sesame Toast - French Toast Indian Style

Last memorial day weekend, my nephew was in town and spent the weekend with us. I treated him with all his favorite Indian food from chicken kadhai to shrimp balchao and masala vada to masala dosa. As a result, I had plenty of leftovers and didn’t have to cook much last week. Sometimes we are not in a mood to have the same food for 2-3 consecutive meals and I love to transform the leftovers into innovative tasty dishes. I had some leftover potato masala and coconut chutney that I made for the masala dosa and decided to make this Indian style French toast for a quick evening snack last week. This 'Potato Masala N Sesame Toast' was delicious and would make an excellent breakfast. I guess you can use any leftover curry (that goes well with egg) for the stuffing and make delicious French toast (Indian Ishtyle) with ingredients you have on hand.

Ingredients-
2 bread slices
1 egg
2 tbsps milk
1 cup Potato Masala/ Bhaji
2 tbsps Coconut Chutney
2 tsps tomato ketchup
2 tbsps chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
1 pinch pepper
Butter
Sesame seeds

Method -
1. Mash the potato masala to form a smooth mixture and add some chopped cilantro to it. Reserve a tbsp of cilantro for the egg batter.
2. Mix the tomato ketchup with the coconut chutney
3. Beat the egg and add the milk, salt, pepper, remaining chopped cilantro and mix well
4. Heat your skillet/ pan while you prepare the bread slices.
5. Spread some butter on the bread slices on one side followed by the chutney- ketchup mixture.
6. Now spread the potato stuffing on the bread to form a thin layer
7. Dip the bread slices in the egg batter and place them on the hot skillet with the stuffing side up. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the bread. Fry both the sides by drizzling some melted butter around the bread slices. Fry till they turn golden brown.
8. Serve them hot with ketchup or chutney.

I'm sending these to Priya's Global Kadai - Indianized French Toast event and Helen and Sarah's 'Breakfast Club # 1 - Asian' event.

Panini with an Indian twist - Tandoori Chicken N Cheese Panini

Panini is Italian for sandwich. Here, in the US, Panini is generally associated with a grilled sandwich with gorgeous grill marks. As I was writing this post, I was reminded of the delicious Paninis we had while vacationing in Montreal, Canada. The one that I loved the most was a simple sun- dried tomato, spinach and fresh mozzarella grilled Panini on ciabatta bread...yum.
When I read about Panini Happy's '2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Pageant' , I knew I was in. I wanted to make a sandwich with an Indian twist. There were several combinations that came to my mind but I settled for this Tandoori Chicken N Cheese Panini. What can I say about Tandoori Chicken? Anyone who has been to an Indian Restuarant must have surely tasted the famous sizzling Tandoori Chicken. Tandoori chicken to a non –vegetarian Indian is what barbeque chicken is to an American. This is a spicy roasted chicken traditionally made in a earthen clay oven called 'Tandoor'. The chicken is marinated for several hours in a spicy yogurt sauce and then grilled to perfection.
Coming back to the Panini, I shredded the tandoori chicken and added some mint chutney and grilled onions and bell peppers to the sandwich for more flavor. The mint chutney goes very well with the tender and juicy tandoori chicken. I served the Panini with some mint mayo (1 tbsp mint chutney +2 tbsp mayonaise) and a refreshing cucumber- onion- tomato relish. These paninis were awesome!

Ingredients -
For Panini -
2 slices white sandwich bread
1/2 cup shredded Tandoori Chicken
Grilled onions
Grilled green bell pepper
Mint chutney
Shredded Mexican 4- cheese or any cheese of your choice
Butter

For Mint Chutney -
1 cup chopped cilantro
10-12 mint leaves
1 clove garlic
1 inch piece ginger
1-2 green chillies
1 small onion chopped
1 tbsp lemon/ lime juice
salt to taste

Method -
For Mint Chutney -
Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor into a smooth paste.

To assemble the Panini -
1. Spread some butter on two bread slices on both sides. Apply a generous layer of mint chutney on both the slices
2. Now add a layer of shredded tandoori chicken and some grilled onions and peppers on one slice.
3. Spread some grated cheese and top with the other bread slice.
4. Grill the paninis on a hot skillet/ pan on both sides till golden brown. I have used a traditional Khakra (Indian toasted bread) press to grill the panini and it worked out great.

Check out Kathy's Panini 101 - Secrets to making great Panini

Cucumber- Onion- Tomato Relish -
In a bowl add some chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumbers. Then add some salt, pepper, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Mix well. Serve chilled.

                                 TANDOORI CHICKEN

This is my entry for Panini happy's '2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Pageant'

Grilled Chutney Sandwich

I'm really excited to celebrate Father's day for the first time on my daughter's behalf. Since Sunday is the only day I get to unwind from the daily busy routine, I decided to make something delicious yet simple for Sunday breakfast. This is a very popular street food from Bombay. These sandwiches bring back memories from the good old college days. These are very simple to make and can easily pass as a breakfast/ lunch/ dinner item.



Ingredients –
Cilantro chutney -
1. 1 bunch cilantro/ coriander leaves
2. 1 inch piece of ginger
3. 3 -4 cloves of garlic
4. 4 -5 green chillies
5. 1 wedge of lime/ lemon
6. 1 tsp sugar
7. salt to taste

Other Ingredients -
Slices of bread (Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread gives the best results)
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced cucumber
Sliced onions
Sliced boiled potato
Chat masala
Tomato ketchup
Butter

Procedure –
Cilantro Chutney – Grind all the ingredients with very little water to make a thick paste.
Spread butter on slices of bread. Then evenly spread some green chutney and tomato ketchup on the bread. Arrange sliced boiled potatoes on the slice of bread. Sprinkle some chat masala. Layer cucumbers/ tomotoes and onions in this order and sprinkle chat masala between each layer. Cover with another slice of bread. Grill the sandwich on a hot skillet by spreading some more butter on the outer surface of the bread. Grill/ toast on both sides till golden brown. Cut the sandwich diagonally or vertically and serve with green chutney and ketchup.

Tips – 1. You can also spread some grated cheese/ paneer for another variation of this sandwich.
2. These sandwiches can also be served cold. Just skip the grilling part